making mischief since 1973

Month: January 2010

Kart Day 002 was 10x better than our first one, if simply for the fact that we were much better organized this time round. Not that we were disorganized at the first one, but this time we could better prepare newcomers for what was in store since we had already experienced it once before at UUM.

And amazingly enough (for Malaysia) everyone turned up to the rendezvous point earlier than scheduled – I know I was itching to get back into a kart and I’m pretty sure the others felt the same way. In fact, I was so psyched that I didn’t really sleep the night before. Hahaha

The best thing about the day was probably the weather. Yes, it was scorching hot and I got sunburnt, but the sun shone so brightly that everything looked so crisp and sharp like it was out of a video game.

But I was kinda worried this time because not only were we going to shoot photos – I was going to attempt to shoot video aswell. And I was not going to shoot any old video footage, I wanted to produce a video clip that would show people just how awesome karting was.

Well, the video is currently being edited by Yuki and I have to say it IS pretty fucking awesome for a No Budget Production. Hahaha

Before we get onto the photos, I have to give a MEGA HUGE shoutout to DC Shoes, who hooked our crew up with some amazing kicks for the event (as you will see) – DC is THE BOMB!

I also want to give props to UUM Promax Karting, who supported our event to the max and accomodated all our requests with a super friendly smile. Wan, you guys run the best karting facility in Malaysia and I’m glad it’s only an hour away from Penang.

I must also give thanks to my buddy Tommy from Tommax Stickers for so graciously providing all the stickers for our helmets and 125cc karts. It might look really simple, but Tommy traced/drew EVERY single logo/graphic you see onto his computer before cutting them out onto vinyl.

However, I do want to mention that karting is NOT all fun and games. One of our friends, Allen, had a shunt that resulted in him breaking one of the bones in his left forearm. Karts ARE fun and will give you an awesome thrill, but always remember to drive within your limits and be aware of what is happening around you on the track.

Here it is – a first look at Ken Block’s new Monster World Rally Team Ford Fiesta.

I have always absolutely hated the Fiesta, as it used to be one of the shittest cars that Ford made but I have to admit that Mr. Block’s new whip looks pretty fly. I never thought I would like a Fiesta, but this one looks pretty dope!

I’m really interested to know how this car will perform against Travis Pastrana & Subaru in the Rally America Championship.

And more importantly, I’m really interested to know how the Focus RS will perform in the WRC against 6-times champion Sebastien Loeb.

On another note, this car should win the hearts of streetwear lovers worldwide as it ticks all the right streetwear boxes.

Since I designed such awesome graphics for fatty Victor’shelmet, I decided mine was in need of some sort of visual upgrade. I’ve had this helmet since 1997 (yes I have been racing in some form or another for that long)

To say some of the stickers have been there for quite a while would be an understatement so off I went to Tommax Stickers to see what we could do to my helmet.

I wanted something that would look kinda funny whenever a photo of my helmet was taken so I decided to put a drop of “sweat” on the side – like how you see in Japanese comics. There’s also a manga-style “tension vein” on top of the sweat as well, just to add to the comic-ey feel.

There has been a flurry of activity this week from most of the people who are attending our 2nd Kart Day this Sunday.

One major activity has been the purchase of new equipment/gear for some – i.e. helmets, gloves, kicks.

What’s Good? blogroll newcomer VictorakaDorifto Neko is one of those who is taking our Kart Day very seriously and has spent the last week or so making sure he is properly kitted out. No more loaner helmets for him – Victor went and copped himself a brand new SOL unit which looks like a tie-fighter pilot’s helmet.

I was asked to design the layout of the graphics on the helmet, which were flawlessly applied by Tommy from Tommax Stickers.

This is the coolest thing on Victor’s helmet (I think) is this new “Dorifto Neko” logo which I designed.

I wanted to create a visual device for him that we could use on cars etc etc to promote the first drifter on the What’s Good? crew.

Victor is kinda chubby and cute – so I wanted something that looked like him so I came up with the “Dorifto Neko” concept. Like the “Maneki Neko” but “Dorifto” since Victor is all about going sideways. He’s also kind of an asshole to some people hence the middle finger salute. Hahaha

Tommy took a sketch I did and traced it into the computer.

Here is the original drawing I made:

When I posted the promo for our Kart Day and it said that the event was “supported by DC” a lot of people asked me what that was all about. Well, we’re not organizing a race so there are no prizes to be given away but what DC Shoes has so kindly done is make sure a few key members of our crew are kitted out with the best kicks possible to enhance their performance on the day.

For those who don’t know, not only is Tommy the vinyl sticker king of Penang, he is also an advanced driving instructor (certified in Thailand).

He is one of the stalwarts at the infamous Kampong Gajah racetrack in Ipoh and there is never a track day there where you will not see him participating in one capacity or another. Tirelessly supporting motorsports in Malaysia, his assistance to our racing endeavors in invaluable.

DC makes some of the best performance footwear in the world and I think few would argue that they make the best shoes for motorsports. I am eternally grateful to them for supporting everything that we get up to in this part of the world and I’m also glad that people are sitting up and taking notice of what we are doing!

For the first time, we will be attempting to film video to document the day so I hope everything goes according to plan.

Filming video will be 10x harder than taking photos, so I’m kinda stressed about that but I still can’t wait for Sunday!!!